Training Specialist – Retail Security
Location: North Region
Hours: Full-time, flexible working required including evenings and travel
Benefits: Attractive salary dependent on experience, company car, Mitie Perks and wider Mitie benefits package
About the Role
This is a fantastic opportunity to join the Mitie and Marks & Spencer partnership in a highly visible Training Specialist role, supporting retail operations across multiple M&S stores.
As a Training Specialist, you will be responsible for embedding the M&S Gold Standard across your region, ensuring our security colleagues deliver a consistently safe, secure, welcoming and customer-focused experience every day.
This role bridges the gap between world-class hospitality and proactive safety. You will work closely with Operations Managers, Store Managers and frontline Security Protection Officers to build confidence, raise standards and ensure every customer interaction reflects professionalism, warmth, visibility and care.
You will lead onboarding, training, coaching, observations and service audits across the contract, identifying skills gaps and evaluating training requirements through store visits, feedback and management requests. Training will be delivered both in person and online via Microsoft Teams, ensuring consistency in world-class service delivery, strong stakeholder engagement and achievement of key performance indicators.
What You'll Do
Customer Experience Excellence & Retail Security Standards
- Implementation and ongoing development of the M&S Gold Standard across your region.
- Champion a customer-first culture within retail security operations.
- Coach teams to deliver a highly visible, approachable and reassuring security presence.
- Complete retail security training to assist with development of security officers.
- Ensure colleagues understand how to balance customer service, loss prevention, safety and operational excellence.
- Promote a “One Team” approach between Mitie security colleagues and M&S store teams.
Training, Onboarding & Capability Development
- Lead onboarding for all new starters, ensuring colleagues understand service standards, partnership expectations and the M&S way of working.
- Deliver engaging training programmes both in-store and virtually via Microsoft Teams, driving consistency across the region.
- Identify skills gaps through observations, feedback and management requests, creating targeted development plans to improve capability and performance.
- Support Operational Managers to build coaching capability and maintain world-class service standards.
Coaching, Observation & Performance Improvement
- Conduct regular store visits, providing real-time coaching and feedback to colleagues and managers.
- Assess customer interactions, professionalism and service behaviours, identifying opportunities for improvement.
- Track colleague development and address performance gaps through targeted coaching interventions.
- Recognise and share best practice to drive consistency across the contract.
Audit, Assurance & Service Standards
- Conduct customer experience audits, quality checks and service observations across the region.
- Measure performance against service standards, operational expectations and contractual KPIs.
- Develop improvement plans where gaps are identified and monitor progress to completion.
- Ensure service standards remain consistent while evolving training and coaching approaches to meet business needs.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Build strong relationships with M&S Store Managers, Mitie Operational Managers and frontline teams.
- Act as the link between service expectations and frontline delivery, ensuring alignment across the contract.
- Provide insight, feedback and recommendations to drive continuous improvement.
- Support governance reviews with meaningful updates on training, capability and service performance.
What You'll Bring
Essential
- Experience in customer experience, hospitality, retail, security leadership, learning and development or service excellence.
- Retail security experience
- Proven experience coaching, training and developing frontline teams.
- Strong communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage and inspire teams in a fast-paced retail environment.
- Ability to deliver both in-person and virtual training.
- Calm, confident and professional approach to challenging situations and conflict de-escalation.
- Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel extensively across your region.
Desirable
- SIA Licence or willingness to complete if successful
- Coaching or training qualification.
- Experience conducting audits, mystery shops or service reviews.
